Monday, October 14, 2013

Lilla Rogers' MATS Class Part B: WEEK 1

A week ago, the second semester of Lilla Rogers's Make Art That Sells Class started, and boy it's been hectic ever since! Our assignment was to make a Christmas card inspired by vintage holiday items (ok, technically we were suppose to make 2, but I was lucky to get one done considering I had about 2 1/2 days to pump this out).

In the end, this is how I feel about it.

PROS:

I like the color. I had a collection of pantone chips from work taped down to one page in my sketchbook, and I realized it was perfect for this assignment. During my research, I noticed there was a lot of black used in old holiday tablecloths and such. It seemed so dramatic, and I loved pairing that with more delicate shades of green and pink.

I like my icons. The first week of Part A, I was missing something very vital from my piece: my characters. There was nothing that seemed to nod back to that strength. This time I managed to be inspired by all the vintage bird ornaments as well as the partridge from The Twelve Days of Christmas and came up with this guy. In spats! He adds a much needed warmth to the whole imagine. Other things, like the addition of geometric pattern and the candy jars, were favorite details.

I like my hand-lettering. In a perfect world it would be bigger, but in the end I'm quite pleased with it.

CONS:

I'm not crazy about the composition. The truth is, depending on what I'm doing, sometimes it's better for me to make art and then assemble it digitally, and other times I do just fine getting it right paint to paper. THIS image, however, was caught between multiple ideas and just never got solved. It's not an organic mosaic, but it's not a grid-like illustration either (places like the small candy under the partridge or the holly seem to awkwardly fill in space and break up straight lines). Although the icons are all fun, it's crowded. This either needed to be busting full of small cute icons, or one icon should have clearly dominated the composition with others removed. The partridge is bigger...buuuuut not quite as big as it should be to really be the focus. It's just a little awkward.

CONCLUSION:

Although I'm not 100% satisfied with my illustration, I figure if I can walk away saying I like three things about it (and only have one major complaint), that's not too shabby. The first week is always a little wobbly, AND did I mention I only had 2 1/2 days??? Phew!

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About Me

After graduating from the Illustration Department of The Rhode Island School of Design, my artwork has appeared in magazines and books, on products, as well as shown in galleries across the country. I taught Illustration at Montserrat College of Art and The RISD before starting a new chapter at C.R. Gibson working in the Gift & Stationery industry as a designer. Now I am a full-time freelance illustrator and can be found teaching at Watkin's College of Art and Design CE Program. Clients include Scholastic Press, Galison, and Girls' Life.